Ahhh, the holiday hubbub has come to an end. The tree and the decorations are down. The recycling truck hauled away the wrapping paper and boxes. The holiday leftovers are almost gone. The kids are back in school. My jeans still fit, though they’re snugger than normal. Now’s the time to sit down with a doughnut and cup of coffee—um, scratch the doughnut and make the coffee black—and ponder special needs goals for 2014.

Sounds like the right scenario. Except for one thing. Setting goals for the new year has never been my cup of  coffee. As an organizationally-challenged, right-brained child, I either forgot my resolutions or lost the list within hours of making it. Once my left brain kicked in as a survival instinct during my first few years of teaching and I was cranking out personal goals and lesson plan objectives on a daily basis, making resolutions at the beginning of each new year seemed superfluous. And after the arrival of our special needs baby…well, I was too busy pumping breast milk, administering antibiotics, and trying to persuade a baby with an oral aversion to eat to clutter up January with anything extra. The idea of writing goals flew out the window and didn’t return.

Until 2014.

A year in which goals are vital in order to meet the deadlines for three book contracts, redesign this website, and pursue the speaking path God seems to be forging. So here I am, with a fresh cup of coffee, trying think of appropriate goals while trying not to think about doughnuts. Or the fact that my child with special needs is an independent adult. Or asking myself, So Miss Special Needs Parent Imposter, why are you trying to come up with a special needs goals anyway? Oy! 

To read the rest of this post, visit the Not Alone Blog at SpecialNeedsParenting.net. 

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